It is a fact of modern health care practice: providers and their staff must process ever-growing numbers of patient record requests. Some laws have attempted to balance the right of patients to obtain copies of their records with the administrative burden it places on providers. But regardless of whether you believe the laws are fair to providers, it can be confusing to figure out exactly what you may charge for copies, due to the overlap of various laws and regulations. The following article covers the applicable laws and regulations regarding these charges.
The law has historically not permitted a patient’s attorney to charge a health care provider attorney’s fees in exchange for payment of the provider’s properly filed lien. However, in the recent Illinois case about which the ICS previously informed its members, the court ruled that the attorney had the right to deduct fees from the provider because the attorney had “created” the fund from which the fees were to be paid.
Now the Illinois Supreme Court has agreed to hear this important case. It will be several months before the case is briefed and argued, but the outcome will have an impact on all health care providers who treat patients in negligence cases.
A number of Illinois physicians have received letters from their patients’ attorneys advising that the cases have been settled and seeking the doctors’ agreement to deduct legal fees from the physicians’ portion of the lien.These notices are a result of the appellate court for the Fifth District of Illinois extension a legal concept called the “Common Fund Doctrine” to health care liens.
ICS Members may or may not be aware of a recent class action settlement against CNA Insurance. Please review the information below to determine if you need to take action:
It is a fact of modern health care practice: providers and their staff must process ever-growing requests for patient records. Some laws have attempted to balance the right of patients to obtain copies of their records with the administrative burden it places on providers. But regardless of whether you believe the laws are fair to providers, it can be confusing to figure out exactly what you may charge for copies, due to the overlap of various laws and regulations...
You may know that the Illinois Division of Insurance (DOI) can assist patients with certain health insurance issues. But did you know that the agency can also assist health care providers in certain cases?
Although the U. S. government leaves most functions of physician regulation to the individual states, the federal government has established two central databases to gather information about actions against health care licenses. These databases are referred to as the National Practitioner Data Base (NPDB) and the Health Insurance Protection Data Base (HIPDB). They are not available to the general public, but are designed to be used by state licensing agencies and health care facilities in decisions involving licensure or clinical privileges...
It should be simple: as a physician, you may establish fees for your services; you provide the services; and you’re entitled to collect payment for those services any way you can, correct? Unfortunately, as any physician managing a practice knows, it’s not that easy. Health care providers are no less affected by the current economic downturn than are other businesses and some patients may be paying bills more slowly or not at all. You need to be assertive about the business aspects of your practice, but you must be especially careful about billing and collection activities because they can affect your license.
